November 1, 2018
Gr 3-6-Ten to 15 projects per volume demonstrate STEAM concepts, model scientific processes, and give kids an opportunity to practice their skills. In Gross Science and Goo, readers learn why snot is slimy and what happens when yeast hits warm water. Music adds an online virtual oscilloscope to its arsenal of rather standard sound experiments. Simple Science proves that makers don't need all day and a lab full of materials to have some science fun. Unfortunately, both Motion and Model Makers fall short: an explanation of lift is so simplified as to be inaccurate, words are missing from a definition of gravity, and terms like mass, scale and, force are used without definition. Photos, in these volumes, don't always match the text, and readers are told to place the terrarium in Models, which features succulents, "near a sunny window" without cautioning against direct sunlight. VERDICT Get hands-on with Music, Simple Science, Goo, and Gross Science, but take a pass on Model Making and Motion.
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